The present invention relates generally to the field of an information processing apparatus using optical disc media for providing and storing information and more particularly to a high-performance information processing apparatus having multiple and highly-improved functions of secondary and tertiary storage for improving the efficiency of a host computer in performing information processing.
It is nowadays essential that a computer system be equipped with a hard-disk drive, a floppy-disk drive, a read-only-memory compact-disc (CD-ROM) drive, and a backup drive either a tape backup drive or a removable-disk drive. Each of these drives had been evolved for taking part in providing some of the multiple functions of secondary and tertiary storage necessary for the computer system to become fully operable in preforming information processing.
The function of a hard-disk drive is known to supply on-line information to the microprocessor of a computer system; while, a floppy-disk drive allows a user to install software onto the hard-disk drive and to transport data between computers. This has being the basis for the evolution of conventional computer systems; and, the proceeding of information processing has thus being heavily dependent on the read/write operation of the hard-disk drive. The immediate disadvantage resulted from the basis is that each newly-purchased software program has to go through a tedious, time-consuming installation process through which program files are (decompressedly) copied to the hard-disk drive from which the software program is then launched. This remains in effect regardless of whether software is distributed through optical-disc or floppy-disk media. Aside from the direct cost paid for software, an end user is also incurred with indirect cost in having corresponding hard-disk space for storing the purchased software program.
When a software program is distributed through floppy-disk media, an end user is advised to make a set of backup copies because floppy diskettes are susceptible not only to physical and external damages but to magnetic degradation. Inevitably encountered are another disadvantages: requiring a time-consuming backup process and leaving no room for the software program to be copy-right protected.
The practice of installing a purchased software program from purchased software diskettes to a hard-disk drive neither leaves much room for software to be copy-right protected. There exist hardware-type protection devices; but, they are affordable only for high-price software programs with an aim of selling at most a few thousand copies for use in trading stocks or futures in real time, for instance. In contrast, volume software programs are sold in sealed envelopes. Once a sealed envelope of a software program is opened, an end user is assumed to accept the software license agreement set by a software developer; and, the software program is not returnable. Unfortunately, there is no practical way to prevent the volume software program from being illegally copied or duplicated. As with the software developers producing high-volume and low-price software programs suffer from their products being illegally copied, the end users lose their opportunity to thoroughly try out a software program before purchasing.
The conventional practice eventually degrades the read/write efficiency of a hard-disk drive. This is because user-created and software-created data files mixedly stored with program files on the hard-disk drive are constantly rewritten, fragmentally relocated, and eventually scattered all over the hard-disk drive. Accordingly, a longer time is needed to find all of the fragmentally-stored data of a large user-created data file. The only remedy currently available for this problem is to routinely run a file-defragmentation process. Unfortunately, as more and more software programs or user-created data files are stored on the hard-disk drive, the file-defragmentation process becomes more and more time-consuming, because it also involves relocation of the program files that occupy most of the hard-disk space but are never changed or altered throughout the entire life of their usage.
Another concern of the conventional practice is that a hard-disk drive is subject to nonphysical damages, for instance, such as program files being truncated or cross-linked due to improper assessing or writing during information reproducing or being infected by computer virus. As a result, software programs become corrupted; and, another tedious software installation process is again needed.
A CD-ROM drive, even though becoming increasingly popularly, plays a much less ssignificant role in information processing when compared with a hard-disk drive. This is clearly reflected in the fact that the CD-ROM drive is designed to serve as tertiary storage for providing off-line archives, for distributing software programs to be installed onto a hard-disk drive, and for playing an audio disc. Often, much of the information originally stored on optical discs has to be copied to the hard-disk drive. Eventually, a mass of information is accumulated in the hard-disk drive. At this point, it becomes highly desirable to have a backup drive either a tape backup drive or a removable-disk drive for storing the accumulated mass information. This not only incurs substantial costs to end users but adds up structural bulkiness and power consumption to the computer systems.
In order to remedy the disadvantages and problems mentioned hereinbefore, my pending application Ser. No. 08/613,806 filed on Mar. 5, 1996 has been aimed to advance the role of CD-ROM apparatuses in information processing from tertiary storage to secondary storage. This is achieved by providing a CD-ROM-type information processing apparatus having plural turntables for removably accommodating optical discs thereon, plural head units, control means for controlling the independent movements of the head units, signal-process systems for converting multiple sets of information from a compact disc format to the original state of the information, and data transmitting means for simultaneously transmitting multiple sets of converted information to a host computer. The CD-ROM-type information processing apparatus of my prior invention enables a computer system to simultaneously and multitaskingly launch several software programs directly from original software discs, thus eliminating tedious and time-consuming software installation, affording a kind of copy-right protection to software, and alleviating the burden of a hard-disk drive in information reproduction processing. However, the read-only nature of my prior invention disallows any storing of user-created data files, requiring a hard-disk drive for its host computer. The present invention thus makes the optical information processing apparatus of my prior invention to become a master drive having not only multiple but highly-improved functions of second and tertiary storage so as to be capable of replacing all of the drives such as hard-disk, floppy-disk, optical-disc, and backup drives that are normally needed in a conventional computer system.
A first object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus capable of performing not only information reading in multitasking but information writing.
A second object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus having a head unit capable of selectively interacting with at least two optical discs through its driving means, so as to manufacture high-performance information processing apparatus at reduced costs.
A third object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus having plural turntables, plural head units, plural decoding units, at least one encoding unit, and a system control unit so as to afford complete and highly-improved functions of secondary storage and tertiary storage for replacing all of the hard-disk, floppy-disk, optical-disc, and backup drives normally needed in a conventional computer system.
According to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention, an information processing apparatus comprises plural head units and plural decoding units for multitaskingly performing information reading, and at least one encoding unit for performing information writing with respect to a selected disc surface.
According to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention, an information processing apparatus comprises plural turntables each being rotatable about a respective one of central axes for removably accommodating one optical disc, and one head unit capable of positioning its head-means group selectively between the turntables and thus selectively interacting with the optical discs for performing information reading or writing.
According to the third preferred embodiment of the present invention, an information processing apparatus comprises plural turntables each being rotatable about a respective one of central axes for removably accommodating one optical disc, plural head units and plural decoding units for multitaskingly performing information reading, at least one encoding unit for performing information writing, and a system control unit for coordinating operation of and for enabling direct communication of the head units, so as to allow said information processing apparatus to possess not only complete but highly-improved functions unobtainable from any combinations of existing hard-disk, floppy-disk, optical-disc, and backup drives that are necessarily equipped in a conventional computer system.